That's a nice looking fence, Mike, but I think it's a little too expensive for me, and the space limitation would be difficult. My "shop" is our shed, which is not tiny, but it's also probably only about 15' square--and my equipment isn't the only thing in there. I should probably just go with the 26" Vega, but there's always that bit that says, hey, you MIGHT want to rip a 40" wide piece of plywood... Or worse, a 30" wide.

Ken, I've got a big capacity fence (52", I think) and the rails seem to be more in my way than anything else. Not to mention it's awkward to cut sheet goods without help.

I bought a set of these when they had a great sale price on three lengths together as a kit, and I only use THEM now when cutting sheet goods. Put a decent fine-tooth blade in a circular saw and the results are actually very good.

The only thing I don't like is that I have to spend some extra time setting it up to make absolutely sure it's set up square.

Someone I see about twice a year. Was a carpenter all his life. Then a couple of years after retirement, lost 2 fingers to a table saw. If someone with that kind of experience can lose fingers easily, it keeps me from wanting a table saw. I've never even used one before.

A lot of lost fingers are those of experienced carpenters who don't share our fear .They make table saws now that stop when your finger gets near the blade. I love wood working, really relaxing and keeps you in the moment, its meditative for me and gives a great sense of accomplishment regardless of the outcome.

I was struck at how casually Adam Savage handled his table saw (and other tools) when I was watching a little web short of his on making a gun case. It was actually pretty frightening at the same time as it was impressive. I certainly take a lot more time setting things up, and my saw gets turned off the instant I'm done cutting the piece. That said, I still do stupid things (see half of this thread), but I try very hard to be safe with my fingers.

I'd like a Sawstop cabinet saw. Not only for it's safety features, but because it's a very well designed saw anyway. I'll wait till I have better shop space, though.

Ken, I watch a lot of woodworking TV shows and I'm always amazed how close they let their fingers get to that blade. I'm probably more timid than I should be, nut will oftentimes find another tool or method if a tablesaw cut just "doesn't feel comfortable to me".

Ken, for making small, flat adjustments to small objects, another quick and easy option is a benchtop belt & disk sander. They have guides to keep your piece square and with gentle pressure, you can be super accurate.

You can pick up benchtop sander for a hundred bucks on sale and feel like you have gotten your money back in no time at all. Also, it's one of the very few power tools where a decent but relatively inexpensive one, works as good as an expensive one. The one thing to look out for is some "super cheap" ones are hard to set up and keep the guides square.

Mark, not having a proper M&T jig, I probably would have fashioned a jig out pf scrap wood to support and slide the piece as I ripped it across the tablesaw, as suggested. Essentially, it would have fit inside your "J" shape turning it into a solid block again. Add cap pieces at the ends to keep it from popping out during cutting. Also, by having it a solid piece with caps at the end, there is no place for tear out.

Always lots of ideas for any problem eh? That's one of the things I like about woodworking. The problem solving.

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With great power comes Awesome irresponsibility.